Play pen



July 2, 1963 L. GOLUB ETAL 3,095,583

PLAY PEN Filed Jan. 6, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS J60 G-ala Max Zzzer jig 9* y 2, 1963 GOLUB ETAL 3,095,583

PLAY PEN Filed Jan. 6, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 29 a ,i )9 q.-

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July 2, 1963 L. GOLUB ETAL 3,095,583

PLAY PEN Filed Jan. 6, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS lea 6 01126United States Patent 3,095,583 PLAY PEN Leo Golub, Marblehead, and MaxZaiger, Swampscott, Mass, assignors, by mesne assignments, to Paul R.Engel, Rochester, N.Y.

Filed Jan. 6, 1960, Ser. No. 728 8 Claims. (Cl. 99)

This invention relates to improvements in collapsible play pens orplayyards for babies and has as its principal objects the provision ofplaypens which are more rigid in construction, safer in use, and whichcan be collapsed readily and compactly from a standing position. Otherand further objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription and claims and by reference to the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a childs play pen according to one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the play pen shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view, on reduced scale, showing the frame and themanner of collapsing the play pen shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial bottom view of the play pen according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, showing releasable meansfor joining the end member support to the upper frame of the play penaccording to FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view, on a slightly reduced scale, of a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view, on a reduced scale, of the play pen of FIG. 1with canopy attached;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the play pen and canopy of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a side view of the canopy shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 detachedfrom the play pen and mounted on separate, auxiliary legs.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the play pen illustrated comprises a generallyrectangular upper frame 10, downwardly diverging legs 11 at oppositesides thereof, end members 12, a floor 13, axial rod 14, foot treadle 15and enclosing material 16, preferably nylon netting.

The upper frame 10 comprises aluminum tube material and has two U-shapedhalves 17 and 17a which fold on pivots 18 at the midpoint of oppositesides thereof. Legs 11 are pivotally attached at their upper ends to thepivots 18 and diverge downwardly in open position, terminating in feet19.

Floor 13 comprises two halves 20 and 21 which fold upwardly along ameeting or parting line 22 extending from side to side at the midpointof the floor. As shown, each floor section 20, 21 is reinforced by aplurality of channels 23 attached thereto.

Axial rod 14 extends from side to side of the play pen beneath the flooraxis 22 and terminates in depending legs 24 which contact the supportingsurface for the play pen to support the floor 13 in open position.Hinges 25 are riveted or otherwise secured to the floor 13 and embracethe axial rod 14. Hinges 25 are provided with opposed, axially spaced,quarter-round slots 26. Pins 27 project from axial rod 14 and engageslots 26. In open position, the pins 27 engage opposite ends of slots 26thereby preventing the floor from sagging below a horizontal plane andlocate legs 24 in vertical position.

3,095,583 Patented July 2, 1963 Floor sections 13 are pivotally attachedto the support rods 28 by means of clips 29 beneath opposite ends offloor 13. Rods 28 have projecting ends 28a rigidly secured to the endsof opposed legs 11 on either side of the play pen by means of bolts 30.End members 12 are generally U-shaped and have inturning ends pivotallysecured by the bolts 30 to legs 11 on opposite sides of the play pen.Each outer end of frame 10* has sleeves 31 (FIGS. 5 and 6) securedthereto by means of bolts 32. Sleeves 31 carry projecting tongues 33curved to embrace the closed or upper portion of end members 12 andhaving therein holes 34. The upper or closed portion of end member 12 isprovided with spring pins 35, the ends of which are depressible inwardlybut which normally project beyond the circumference of rod member 12. Inopen position, pins 35 project through holes 34 of bracket 31 to lockthe upper frame member 10 in horizontal position.

For the purpose of safety, a spaced plurality of pins 35 and holes 34are provided on each end member 12 so that a child cannot inadvertentlyrelease the supporting end member 12 by accidentally or otherwisedepressing a single pm.

In collapsing the play pen, pins 35 are depressed to release end members12, the halves 17 and 17a of upper frame 10 are collapsed downwardlyagainst legs 11, and end members 12 are then folded inwardly over rod 14(FIG. 3). The upper ends of end members 12 are then grasped and foottreadle 15 pressed upon to fold the floor 13 upwardly while liftingmoderately or pulling on end members 12. Thus the play pen can becollapsed, after disengaging end members, 12, by a single motion by anoperator in standing or near-standing position, thus eliminating thestooping or bending heretofore required.

In addition to the improved manner of collapsing the pen, and to thesafety feature embodied in a plurality of locking pins 35, the play penillustrated has the further advantage of providing a substantially morerigid structure by utilization of rigid end members 12 in conjunctionwith legs 11 thereby substantially reducing the tendency of the play pento skew.

A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 7 andcomprises an upper frame 10a with halves 17b and 170, legs 11a, floor13a with halves 20a and 21a and channel braces 23a, elbow braces 36,vertical posts 37 and a draw string 38. The vertical posts 37 have anupper fitting 39 containing pivots 18a for upper frame halves 17b and170, a fitting 40 to which legs 11a are pivotally secured and a fitting41 to which the collapsible braces 36 are secured. In this embodiment,the axial rod beneath the center of the floor 13a terminates in rings 42at each end which slidably engage the lower portion of the verticalpost-s 37. In open position, the floor 13a is supported in horizontalposition by means of pins 43a in the lower ends of vertical posts 37which engage the rings 42 to limit downward movement of the floor. Drawstring 38 is secured at its lower end to one of rings 42, passesupwardly through a retaining ring 43 on fitting 39 and terminates in aball 44 held by ring 43. To collapse the play pen, braces 36 are folded,upper frame halves 17b and folded down against legs 11a and the floorand legs are collapsed by drawing on'draw string 38.

While upper frame braces 36 are shown in FIG. 7 pivotally attached attheir lower ends to fitting 41 on vertical posts 37, they can also beattached to legs 11a as shown by imaginary lines 45.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a canopy 48 attached to the play pen of FIG. 1.This canopy comprises lower U- shaped frame member 50, intermediateU-shaped frame member 51, upper U-shaped frame member 52, and canopycover material 53. Frame members 50, 51 and 52 are mounted at their openends to a pivot 54 at each side and on which the canopy folds. Elbowbraces or folding brackets 55 are provided on opposite sides of thecanopy and have their ends attached to lower frame 50 and upper frame52, respectively. Clamps 56 are provided on each open arm of lower framemember Si) which secure the canopy to upper frame member 1t of the playpen.

While the canopy 48 is herein illustrated mounted on the play pen ofFIG. 1, it is obvious that it can also be attached to the play pen shownin FIG. 7 as well as play pens of other types having upper framemembers. However, the combination is particularly advantageous with theplay pens, as illustrated, which have opposed diverging llegs andwherein the end-s of the upper frame member fold thereagainst since thecanopy will collapse or fold with the play pen without requiring itsremoval.

The canopy illustrated has further utility in that it can be removedfrom the play pen and attached to separate legs 60 (FIG. by clamps 61which can be clamps 56, if desired. The canopy can therefore be used tocover the play pen or to cover a separate chair or the like, asrequired.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is for thepurpose of illustration only and that the invention includes allmodifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A foldable play pen comprising, in combination,

(a) an upper frame having two sections pivoted with respect to eachother on an axis,

(b) a pair of legs carried on each opposing side of the upper frame andbeing pivoted with respect to each other approximately on said axisbetween open and closed positions,

(0) a lower frame comprising the lower portions of said legs and meansrigidly connecting opposing ones of said pairs of legs for supporting afoldable floor thereon,

(d) a pair of end support means pivoted on said lower frame at oppositeends of the play pen, each support means being releasably lockable witha corresponding one of said upper frame sections at said opposite endsfor supporting opposing ends of said upper frame relative to said lowerframe when the legs are in the open position.

2. A foldable play pen comprising, in combination,

(a) an upper frame having two sections, pivoted with respect to eachother on an axis,

([2) a pair of legs carried on each opposing side of the upper frame andbeing pivoted with respect to each other approximately on said axis,

(c) a lower frame comprising the lower portions of said legs, a pair offloor section between said pairs of legs being interconnected to form asubstantially rigid floor when the play pen is in at least an openposition, and means rigidly connecting opposing ones of said pairs oflegs and pivotally supporting each of said floor sections relative tosaid opposing legs along an axis parallel to said upper frame axis, and

(d) a pair of end support means pivoted on said lower frame at oppositeends of the play pen, each Support means being releasably lockable witha corresponding one at said upper frame sections at said opposite endsfor supporting opposing ends of said upper frame relative to said lowerframe when the play pen is in an open position.

3. A foldable play pen in accordance with claim 2 in which,

(a) each of said end support means comprises a substantially U-shapedsupport member pivotally connected at opposite sides of the play pen tosaid lower frame.

4. A foldable play pen in accordance with claim 2 in which,

(a) each of said end support means comprises a substantially U-shapedsupport member pivotally connected to said lower frame at spacedintervals intermediate said pairs of legs.

5. A foldable play pen in accordance with claim 2 in which,

(e) each of said end support means is releasably lockable with an endportion of a corresponding one of said upper frame sections adapted tooverlie the upper end of said end support means.

6. A foldable play pen comprising, in combination,

(a) an upper frame having two sections pivoted with respect to eachother on an axis,

(b) a pair of legs carried on each opposing side of the upper frame andbeing pivoted with respect to each other approximately on said axisbetween open and closed positions,

(c) a lower frame comprising the lower portions of said legs, a pair offloor sections between said pairs of legs being interconnected to form asubstantially rigid floor when the play pen is in at least the openposition, and means rigidly connecting opposing ones of said pairs oflegs and pivotally supporting each of said floor sections relative tosaid opposing legs along an axis parallel to said upper frame axis, and

(d) a pair of end support members, each having handle portions at theupper extremity thereof and each being pivoted on said lower frame atopposite ends of said play pen, said members being constructed tooverlie said upper frame members and substantially engage each other atsaid handle portions when said upper frame is folded downwardly to atleast said pairs of legs in the open position, thereby providing handlesfacilitating folding of the play pen, and

(6) means for releasably locking said handle portions with each of saidupper frame sections when in an open position for supporting said upperframe relative to said lower frame when the legs are in the openposition.

7. A foldable play pen comprising, in combination,

(a) an upper foldable frame,

(b) a pair of legs pivoted to each opposing side of said upper framealong an axis,

(0) a floor comprising two sections,

(d) means rigidly connecting opposing ones of said pairs of legs andpivotally supporting each of said floor sections relative to saidopposing legs along an axis parallel to said leg pivoting axis,

(e) a cross member of substantially circular cross section having aground engaging leg,

(f) a pair of radial pins axially spaced on said crossmember, and

(g) a pair of hinges carried on abutting edges of said floor sectionsaxially spaced and having arcuate portions overlying said cross-memberand slots cooperating with said pins to pivotally interlock said floorsections and lock said cross-member leg in a substantially verticalposition when the play pen is in an open position.

8. In a foldable play pen construction having an upper foldable frame,two pairs of legs pivoted to said upper frame at opposite sides thereofalong an axis, a floor comprising two sections, means rigidly connectingopposing ones of said pairs of legs and pivotally supporting each ofsaid floor sections relative to said opposing legs along an axisparallel to said leg pivoting axis,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,157,453 Szinak Oct. 19, 1915 6 Kolb Nov. 2, Shore May 1, Tigrett May7, Lukala Sept. '16, Fulton Oct. 13, Werner Jan. 26, Hamilton July 11,Landry July 18,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 26, France Mar. 19, France Sept. 12,

1. A FOLDABLE PLAY PEN COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, (A) A UPPER FRAMEHAVING TWO SECTIONS PIVOTED WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER ON AN AXIS, (B) APAIR OF LEGS CARRIED ON EACH OPPOSING SIDE OF THE UPPER FRAME AND BEINGPIVOTED WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER APPROXIMATELY ON SAID AXIS BETWEENOPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, (C) A LOWER FRAME COMPRISING THE LOWERPORTIONS OF SAID LEGS AND MEANS RIGIDLY CONNECTING OPPOSING ONES OF SAIDPAIRS OF LEGS FOR SUPPORTING A FOLDABLE FLOOR THEREON, (D) A PAIR OF ENDSUPPORTED PIVOTED ON SAID LOWER FRAME AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE PLAY PEN,EACH SUPPORT MEANS BEING RELEASABLY LOCKABLE WITH A CORRESPONDING ONE OFSAID UPPER FRAME SECTIONS AT SAID OPPOSITE ENDS FOR SUPPORTING OPPOSINGENDS OF SAID UPPER FRAME RELATIVE TO SAID LOWER FRAME WHEN THE LEGS AREIN THE OPEN POSITION.